Zlye Kukly appears to be an Israeli outfit consisting of emigrants from the former USSR, now living in Jerusalem and The Strange Heavenly City is a reissue of the third of the band's five albums to date. Of these one was a live album and another a compilation. This was previously only available as a self-released CD-r. It also seems that The Strange Heavenly City is the first to be available outside of Israel. Re-released by Moscow label MALS, this album seems to be aimed primarily at Russian-language listeners, since all the information in the CD booklet (its tray included), is exclusively in Russian. That may explain why in some places the band is also referred to as 'Evil Dolls' (the English translation of Zlye Kukly?), and the album title as Alien Celestial City. They play a very curious style of music, which results in a strange but hugely engaging record from beginning to end. The baseline of this band's musicality is set upon traditional Russian and Israeli folk music. There are constant baroque tendencies, and the band somehow adds a distinct gothic and theatrical feel, which gives the whole album a curious but compelling vibe. The arrangements are often complex with counterpoint rhythms and melodies which reveal themselves slowly; rewarding repeated, attentive listens. Not 'prog', but definitely progressive. There is also a dark melancholy to the disc. It brings to my mind Arcturus without the metal trappings. The lion's share of the performance is taken up by the bandleader Fred Adra. His distinct vocals and acoustic guitar are accompanied by violin, bass, drums and keyboards, plus some brass and folk instruments, accordion, and occasional electric guitar and oboe. He is supported to good effect by three different female vocalists on four of the songs, offering both traditional folk and more operatic vocals. With the exception of the acoustic The Son, the first eight tracks, including two instrumentals, are all dominated by a sombre gothic aura, set above restrained folk melodies. A Piece Of Yesterday's Sky, Death Is Not The End and Dreams each contain some relatively expanded instrumental sections which all give a respectful nod to the Art